The good news – the demand for software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers in the U.S. is at an all-time high, and it’s expected to grow 22% by 2030. The bad news – a software developer shortage is leaving many positions unfilled, potentially affecting a business’s innovation and growth. The upswing in hybrid roles and the transition to remote work are partly to blame. There aren’t enough skilled developers to fill every role, so many employers are having to overburden the developers they already have in place and go about business a little differently in order to conduct “business as usual.”
For employees to work remotely, enterprise software needs to work remotely as well. The shift to cloud environments requires independent software vendors (ISVs) to rapidly modernize their software. Low-code can help.
Low-code is primarily a visual means of “coding” a system. Low-code development platforms typically have a variety of menus that give users clear options for features to implement. This eliminates the need for developers to build out all of the functionality and design with code. Teams can accomplish projects faster and spread out workloads within an organization to non-technical employees because low-code requires minimal programming skills. For these reasons, analyst firms expect low-code and no-code developer populations to increase significantly within the next three to five years.
Low-code development has grown from a tool for departmental applications to a strategy to support widespread digital transformation.
Maximize training time and workflow of departments via integrated experiences
To take advantage of low-code development, ISVs need to close process gaps and reduce manual training. This will activate citizen developers and improve workflow through departments. And, don’t forget to create proper resources, training, and policies for all citizen developers. Implementing platform strategies and assessments can help organizations determine the best way to leverage low-code and no-code to achieve strategic business goals.
Also, keep workflows in mind when integrating capabilities from different parts of the organization. Creating a new and consistent workflow will allow full-time developers and citizen developers to collaborate interdepartmentally with the help of automation. It will create an integrated experience – a connected, collaborative low-code work environment that employees find rewarding.
Stay ahead of department needs
Business leaders should make it a goal to simplify building, developing, and supporting customer integration offerings. Low-code can help accelerate development and improve reliability and scalability.
Also, take advantage of visioning lab workshops; they can help businesses determine the best use cases to leverage low-code and no-code technologies. They also help businesses decide on roll-out strategies, roadmaps and provide a vision for how low-code and no-code can help accelerate digital transformation and improve future business productivity.
Adapt quickly and maintain fundamentals
Even with low code, it’s important to note that businesses will still need developers for the fundamentals. Therefore, it’s key to maintain a business’ traditional software development team and use low-code as a way to bridge skill gaps and ease the burden on developers.
The shortage of software developers doesn’t have to be the end all be all of development within an organization. Low-code technology platforms can help organizations of all sizes not only conduct “business as usual” but even accelerate development cycles to drive further innovation and growth – something every organization can benefit from.
